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Signs Your Significant Other is Cheating on You

They often spend late nights at the office or large chunks of time that they cannot easily account for (or don’t want to account for).

They are looking good. Real good. Dare you say, better than before? If your significant other is suddenly stepping up their physical appearance, you might have cause for concern –especially if they seem rather indifferent to you appreciating/ complimenting their appearance.

Going along with that, if your significant other adds tons of new steps to their hygiene routine out of the blue, they are at least flirting with the idea of cheating on you. They shower more frequently, wear more perfume/cologne, put more care into their makeup, etc. because they are trying to impress someone…and that someone may not be you.

You find their online dating profile. They are definitely cheating on you, regardless of whether or not their page says they are just “seeking friendship.” Their dating profile says single, actively seeking a relationship, and they logged in recently? Did I mention they are definitely cheating on you?

They are more secretive than usual. You find that even asking something seemingly simple like where they’ve been or what they are up to is met with defensive behavior. This could mean them changing the topic or even them overreacting (like they are insulted that you would even ask them such a thing). This also comes into play with technology, especially with cell phones…

Their cell phone is entirely off limits to you. It is relatively normal to have a password on your phone, but not letting your significant other so much as touch your phone? That’s a red flag.

Their cell phone is on silent or entirely off when the two of you are together. They may claim that it’s because you’re the only person they talk to anyway or that they are trying to get the most out of their time with you, but it is more likely they are talking to someone else (especially if they use one of the above reasons yet still pull out their phone repeatedly when you are together).

They have more than one cell phone…and you know the other one isn’t work issued.

If you have joined finances and you find that there are often unaccounted for expenses then your significant other might be using that money to whoo someone else. Or they really wanted a big mac…every day of the week for the past three months.

Their sex drive has changed drastically. When they used to complain that they wanted more sex, now they seem content with a growing lack of sex. If you hold sex hostage from them, this behavior may simply be a result of having given up on the fight to get some in the bedroom. However, if your sex life used to be regular if not extremely active and has changed without reason, they might be cheating on you. It’s important to note though that cheating is not the only explanation for a decrease in physical intimacy, nor is it necessarily the most logical one. Rule out other possibilities first, such as lack of sleep, illness, stress, hormones, the fact that you live in different locations, etc.

After you go to bed, they are still up on their computer. They may or may not claim to be working. They may or may not actually be working. What you have to look out for is extensive time spent online, especially late at night, when they never spent as much time online before. It’s possible they are checking out the vast pool that online dating sites have to offer or even chatting up someone on social media. It’s also possible that they are just binge watching shows on Netflix.

They are all for you going out of town without them. In fact, they encourage and even suggest it. Sure, they may just be interested in time alone but, more than likely, they are looking for some time spent…well, not alone.

They bring up another person a lot. This is dependent on the context they are brought up in, of course. If they are working together on a project then it might be normal to talk about them a lot when they are discussing work. If it is someone they don’t spend a lot of time with for a legitimate reason yet they seem to keep coming up in conversation, you might have cause for concern. On the other hand, if they are working with another person that they are clearly avoiding talking about with you (i.e. they change the topic when you bring this person up), then you could also have reason for concern. Where the “norm” lies in your relationship is something only you can judge.

If they only have negative things to say about someone, claiming that person is “ugly,” “annoying,” “conceited,” “dull,” or otherwise physically or socially unattractive on every level, it is likely they mean the opposite. This is especially true if you have met said person and don’t believe any of these things to be true about them. It is more than likely that your significant other finds this person to be attractive and doesn’t want you to be privy to this fun fact. However, this does not necessarily mean they are cheating.

They advertise themselves as single on social media. As petty as it is, social media plays a big part in relationships and the perception of them. If your significant other is leading everyone to believe they are single, it is likely because they are still acting like they are (especially if it is on a dating site…see above).

They don’t let you tag them in photos of just the two of you, post anything more than a funny link on their page, or comment on anything they post with something that could be interpreted as romantic, they are likely cheating on you.

They seem to be distancing themselves from you. Whether they stopped saying “I love you,” or spend an increasing amount of time away from you even when they don’t have to work or they seem to be picking more fights, the purposeful creation of distance could mean that your significant other is already cheating on you.

One of the biggest ways to tell if your significant other is cheating on you is to trust your gut. If you feel like something is off, something is probably off. If you think that your significant other is acting different or shadier than usual, they are likely hiding something from you. That something may or may not actually be a someone. Point is that if you feel like something is going on, then something likely is. Think about it. Figure out if your concerns are justified and what is making you feel like your significant other is cheating on you. Most importantly, talk about it with your significant other. You don’t want to point fingers or make unjust accusations, but you do not want to keep your concerns bottled up as this will only lead to more issues down the road.